Credit Access and Inclusion Act of 2026

This provision explicitly allows landlords (including the Secretary of HUD for subsidized housing) and utility/telecommunication firms to report a consumer's payment history for lease agreements and utility/telecommunication services to credit reporting agencies. This means that consistent on-time payments could help build credit, but late payments could negatively affect credit scores.

This provision limits the type of utility information that can be reported to credit agencies. Only information related to payment for the service or other terms like deposits, discounts, or service interruption conditions can be furnished. Actual usage data (e.g., how much electricity a household consumes) cannot be reported.

This provision prevents energy utility firms from reporting a consumer's outstanding balance as 'late' to credit reporting agencies if the consumer has entered into a payment plan (such as a deferred payment agreement or debt forgiveness program) and is actively meeting the obligations of that plan, as determined by the utility.

This amendment extends existing limitations on liability for furnishers of information under FCRA to specifically include the new full-file credit reporting provisions (subsection (f)). This means that entities like landlords and utility companies would generally not be liable for certain actions or omissions related to reporting this new data, provided they comply with FCRA requirements.

This section mandates the Comptroller General of the United States (GAO) to conduct a study and submit a report to Congress within two years of the bill's enactment. The study must assess the impact that the new full-file reporting has had on consumers and analyze the effect of reporting consumer cash flow data to credit agencies on consumer credit scores.